Doncaster gives you space, elevation and city views, with Westfield and the freeway close at hand. What it does not give you is a train line — so where you buy within the suburb matters more here than almost anywhere in the east.
Doncaster sits roughly 15 kilometres north-east of the CBD and is home to about 25,000 people. There is no train station — the suburb runs on high-frequency buses along Doncaster Road and the Eastern Freeway, including the 907 — so proximity to a bus corridor genuinely affects both liveability and resale. Housing ranges from large post-war family homes on elevated blocks to a substantial and still-growing apartment market around Westfield. Those two markets move independently, and conflating them is the most common mistake I see here.
In Doncaster, elevation is worth paying for and a main-road frontage almost never is. Nearly everything else is negotiable. — Justin Valentine
The ridge along Doncaster Road carries genuine city views and they are fully priced in. I check whether an outlook is protected by topography or borrowed from a neighbour's single-storey roofline that a permit could remove tomorrow.
Doncaster's apartment median sits near $627,000 against a house median above $1.5 million, and supply around Westfield is high. I read the owners corporation minutes, the sinking fund balance and the building's defect history before the fitout gets a second look.
Homes an easy walk from a high-frequency stop on Doncaster Road consistently outperform pockets that need a second bus. I time the actual walk at your actual commute hour, and I will stand in the back garden with you at peak to hear the freeway.
The ridge, the Ruffey Lake side and the Doncaster Road corridor behave like three separate markets, and agents will quote whichever comparable suits them. With a 65.7% clearance rate there is real room to negotiate after a pass-in, and that is where I earn my fee.
Figures for the 12 months to June 2026. Note how far apart the house and apartment medians sit — that gap is the single most important thing to understand about this market.
12 months to June 2026
A large and separate market around Westfield
Among the stronger performers in the east
Houses, from listing to sale
Solid, with room to negotiate on passed-in homes
Less than people assume, but it is real. The 907 and the other Doncaster Road services are frequent and fast into the city, and buyers here have priced that in for decades.
Where it does matter is within the suburb. Homes an easy walk from a high-frequency stop consistently outperform pockets that need a second bus or a car, and I factor that into every valuation I give you.
They are genuinely different purchases. Houses have a median above $1.5 million and grew about 3.6% over the past year. Apartments sit near $627,000, with more stock and softer growth, particularly around Westfield.
If you are an owner-occupier planning to stay ten years, I would steer you toward land wherever your budget allows. If you want single-level living close to everything, a well-chosen apartment can be exactly right, but the building matters enormously.
Meaningfully, on the elevated streets, but only when the view is genuinely protected. A view across a neighbour's low-rise roofline can disappear with one planning approval.
I check the topography and the surrounding zoning before we bid, so you are paying for an outlook that will still be there in ten years.
Doncaster Primary, Birralee Primary and Doncaster Secondary College are the main government catchments, with several well-regarded independent schools nearby. Boundaries are address-specific.
I verify every shortlisted address on Find My School, and I will flag when a home sits right on a zone boundary, because those can and do get redrawn.
On land size per dollar, clearly yes. You will typically get a substantially larger block and a newer home for well under what the same money buys closer in.
What you give up is the train and some of the period character. Whether that trade suits you depends on how you actually live, which is the conversation I want to have before we look at a single property.
No. I do not accept referral fees, kickbacks or commissions from selling agents, developers, brokers or anyone else.
You pay me and I work for you. That is the whole arrangement, and it is the reason I can tell you to walk away from a property when that is the right advice.
You'll always know what's happening next. Here's how we move from first conversation to the keys in your hand.
The words that come up most often are calm, informed, supported and protected. That's exactly how buying a home should feel.
We needed help with finding a new home. We tried doing it ourselves but it became so challenging. Justin was exceptional from start to finish. From the first phone call, he navigated the entire purchase of our new home with absolute confidence and calm, making what could have been a stressful process feel seamless. From managing conversations with real estate agents to handling negotiations and due diligence, he took ALL the stress off our shoulders. We always felt informed, protected and one step ahead. It was such a relief to have him in our corner! Justin's professionalism, strategic approach and steady guidance gave us total confidence in every decision and ultimately secured a fantastic result at an online Auction. Nothing was ever too hard for Justin, you can ask him anything and that's the difference. We couldn’t recommend Justin more highly.
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What a pleasure to have dealt with Justin! We appreciated his insight, guidance and feedback on properties we considered to buy. Having someone in your corner like Justin with his calm demeanour that you could trust and have open honest communication with, was priceless during the stressful time of finding and buying a house during these competitive times. Especially during making offers and negotiations he assisted us with such ease. Thank you Justin! You definitely helped us find and secure our dream home faster and with less stress than if we were to do it on our own. Can't help but feel a bit sad that we won't continue our regular check-ins and chats on our house hunting sessions! Just reach out to Justin and ask your questions, I have no doubt you'll see what I mean
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A trusted friend suggested a Buyers Advocate who I spoke with initially, but as he worked outside metro Melbourne, referred me onto trusted friend and colleague. He confirmed that Justin had capacity to work with me. I had bought numerous times on my own in Melbourne but was living several hours out of the city, under intense time pressures, and alarmed by the v high numbers at Opens I had attended. Justin clarified the tasks I wanted him to undertake, promptly researched and inspected two properties on my shortlist, and proceeded to make offers within my limits. I/we succeeded on yet another property, to my delight, which also required multiple offers to succeed. Justin's work saved me many hours time and travel; the increase of his his offers were much lower than I would have expected, so saving me significantly; and he established good rapport with vendors agents so he was able to indirectly "read" expectations of vendors. Justin attended the final inspection with me, checking functional state of house fittings, and liaised with my legal conveyancer. He was happy to provide phone consultation with another family member in a complex auction situation. I move in today! Thank you, Justin.
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We recently worked with Justin on a property that we were selling that he successfully secured for his clients. As an agent, it was refreshing to deal with a buyer advocate who communicated so well and I strongly felt that he had his clients best interest in mind. Would highly recommend him to any buyers needing an advocate!
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Working with Justin was fantastic! His communication skills second to none. Reliable, helpful and dedicated to his clients needs. Looking forward to working with him again. Thank you Justin!
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Initially, we resented having to resort to engaging a buyer’s advocate due to the difficulties we experienced trying to deal with real estate agents, shadowy practices in terms of pricing and always being beaten out by deeper pockets and games being played, but having engaged Justin , we soon had real leads that hooked us up with a genuine and honest real estate agent and managed to purchase a property within a month! Justin’s contacts managed to give us access to off market properties,which gave us a chance to compete and eventually secure the property of our dreams. Justin passed our initial quizzing with flying colours , his patience and understanding, and more importantly his ability to listen to us and transpose that into our home was really appreciated. We would highly recommend Justin as a calm, unassuming presence to help lead anyone through this stressful process! Thank you Justin!
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Justin is an excellent buyers advocate who truly cares about his clients and really invests in getting the best outcomes for them. He’s genuine, supportive, and just a great person to deal with — someone you can trust to guide you through the process and deliver great results. Highly recommend Justin to anyone looking to buy a home in Melbourne East.
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I recently had the pleasure of working with Justin for the first time to secure a home. From the outset, the process showed signs of being a bit complex, and I knew I didn’t want to navigate it alone. Justin was absolutely fantastic—attentive, thoughtful, and incredibly supportive throughout. He offered valuable advice and truly partnered with me every step of the way, never once trying to push or override my decisions. I highly recommend Justin to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, respectful, and genuinely caring professional.
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Justin is an absolute professional. His knowledge is First Class, he is honest and gives 100% effort to everything he does. Highly recommended.
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Justin is very professional, and patient agent. He helps his clients to sort out all the issues, and provides the relative resource when there is a problem. Would recommend him if you are looking for a buyers agent
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Absolute pleasure working with Justin throughout a very successful auction campaign. Always extremely thorough and prompt with communication always thinking from the clients perspective and with their best interest at heart. Would not hesitate to recommend Justin to help navigate through the buying/selling process of property.
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Justin is amazing and has saved me lots of time and effort in the process of purchasing my property. He went above and beyond to make the purchase seamless for me, including local market research, buyer due diligence and negotiations with the selling agent. I have been so impressed with Justin that I've also engaged his services as a Selling Advocate for the sale of my current property. I'd highly recommend Justin's services - both as a buyer's agent and also as a seller's advocate.
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